2003-04-12 - 6:30 p.m.
MOM AS AN IMMATURITY FACTOR
This summer, Day-Hay will be gainfully employed. She will be as gainfully employed as a thirteen year old gets. She�s filled out her application, called to set up her interview, gone through her interview, and gotten herself hired as a counselor-in-training for the local YMCA day camp. (It�s a volunteer job but I won�t pay for camp this summer and they won�t pay her. I consider that a good deal.) That child�s business skills are impressive and so is her maturity�as long as she is away from her mother.
I�ve never been a drag on anyone�s maturity before. With Kat, my presence never seemed to make a significant difference on her maturity level. But it sure makes a difference with Day-Hay. Just my mere presence in the house when she is getting ready for school seems to guarantee a rockier morning. Last week, when Mr. Philately was sick and sleeping in, I got her up and left for work. I thought about staying and getting her off to school but I suspected the odds were better that it would happen smoothly without me.
Nevertheless, once in a while, I�m allowed to glimpse Day-Hay�s more mature side. I saw her application for this job. She asked good questions before filling it out. The job required applicants to be thirteen and she was twelve when she was filling out the application. She wanted to know what to put when it asked for age. She was concerned that if she just put twelve that they would not interview her. She was afraid that if they put thirteen she would be lying. I suggested that she put �13 as of (her birthdate)� and she did. We also had a discussion about giving the reasons in addition to the dates for the two weeks of the summer she would not be available so that they would see that she had been selected for a nationwide girl scout event.
Anxious as Day-Hay can get, I feel generally at ease about her future. She can figure out what needs to be done and how to do it. She can figure out where resources are and how to obtain their help. She can cook, clean, sew on buttons, shop, and take care of herself if she has to.
No, I�m not worried about her. I�m just trying to figure out what�s wrong with me. Probably nothing that seven years or so more can�t cure.
LAST YEAR: Battle of the Books
Maintaining Success
Questions, Questions
Still Waiting
The Clutter That Ate the House
I Can See Clearly Now
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Copyright 2006 by Ellen |
